Adam Turner is an award-winning Australian freelance technology journalist with a passion for gadgets and the "digital lounge room".

The sad truth is that most of us can't afford to buy the best of everything. Compromises must be made. Personally I'd rather drive an old car and carry a new phone, while other people are the opposite. But even if you're passionate about tech like I am, it's unlikely you can afford to buy everything from the top shelf. So when do you bite the bullet and go budget?

I think the key to shopping for tech on a budget, whether it's a big-arse television or a super-slim smartphone, is to have a clear understanding of exactly what you're sacrificing compared to the more expensive options. You're much less likely to be disappointed with your purchase if you go in with your eyes open and set realistic expectations. There's nothing worse than picking up what you think is a bargain only to discover that it's much worse than what you bargained for.

There's a lot to be said for the old saying "you get what you pay for". If you're paying less then you're giving up features, quality or both. I'd rather sacrifice quantifiable features, so I know exactly what I'm missing out on. Sacrificing quality is a lot more subjective and I think is more likely to lead to disappointment.

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When I'm shopping on a budget I tend to look at the low-end models of the medium or good brands rather than the high-end models of the cheap brands. Snapping up last year's model on special, because they're clearing the shelves for the new models, is a great way to pick up a bargain – as long as the old model doesn't lack some feature that you desperately need. The post-Christmas sales are also a good time to shop and the Boxing Day Bunny has been good to me over the years.

Shopping for home entertainment gear such as televisions and home theatre systems on a budget is a good example of deciding whether you want to sacrifice features or quality. When it comes to televisions, the secret sauce of quality is video processing. The larger the screen the more important it is to pay for good video processing, or else most of what you watch will look terrible. If you're on a budget then don't get caught up in a game of "mine's bigger than yours" with your neighbours. You're better off dropping a screen size – going for 55-inch rather than 65-inch – and opting for a more reputable brand, assuming you care more about picture quality than raw inches.

Shopping for home theatre systems on a budget is even more difficult because there are so many options to choose from. Everyone draws their own line in the sand when it comes to subjective things like sound quality. Shopping is made harder if you need to negotiate with your partner regarding your tech budget, especially if they don't appreciate the subtle quality improvements which come with spending more money. Having suffered through years of me testing home entertainment gear, thankfully my partner appreciates the tell-tale signs of quality so there's less pressure to go budget just to keep the peace.

When it comes to home theatres, whether or not you'll be satisfied with a budget option really depends on what you're already familiar with. I wouldn't recommend a sub-$200 system with tiny satellite speakers to anyone, although I'm sure some people would be impressed if they'd never listened to a more expensive system. I think you should declare $500 to be the entry-level mark but seriously consider spending more.

I've been holding off on upgrading my cobbled together home theatre system for a few years, because I haven't been able to justify spending several thousand dollars for what I'd consider to be a decent system. I didn't have a sub-woofer and the amp was so old it doesn't handle DTS, which is a problem once you're watching Blu-ray. Recently I convinced myself that I'll never be able to justify spending that kind of cash on a luxury item so I decided to go budget – picking up a $650 Yamaha system which was on special at $400. The next model up was only more expensive because it included internet and local streaming features which I don't need, as I have other gear to handle those jobs.

Yamaha is a decent middle-of-the-road brand, but at that price I was never going to get the speaker size and quality which I needed to meet my expectations. I have to admit I was rather underwhelmed with my new purchase, especially when I tested it out with the scene from The Matrix where they rescue Morpheus. I've listened to that scene through a $5000 sound system and I was trying to convince myself that I could live with the budget option, but I really should have known better than to dip so far below the line which I'd consider acceptable.

In the end I swapped in the larger front and centre speakers from my old system but kept the new amp, sub-woofer and rear speakers. The extra grunt, especially from the centre speaker, improved things significantly and I'm now much happier with my purchase. I know it's not the world's greatest system, but I'm satisfied with the results in my mid-sized lounge room. I'm not too proud to admit that I had to make compromises to suit my budget, but at least they're compromises I can live with.

Falling back on some of my old home theatre speakers was always my Plan B and part of the reason why I was prepared to take a risk on going budget. If I didn't have those speakers at hand I'd be wishing that I'd stuck with my guns and put that $400 towards a more expensive system. The more expensive your taste, the bigger the risk it is to go budget because you know what you're missing out on.

When do you feel it's safe to go budget? Which budget tech purchases do you regret?

4 comments so far

I have been building my home theatre system for years now, on the premise of buying the best I can at the time. My front three channels cost me the better part of $2500, the sub around the $1200 mark and the side-fill rears about $600. The amp that I currently have was purchased on sale (a new model was due) at the $1200 mark. I know its a huge investment but it is used every day from movie watching, tv, games and music - it is certainly worth it the time and money spent getting it to where it is now.

I'm not planning on going to 7.1 at this stage as the theatre room/lounge is not big enough to justify the added overhead. Similarly I don't see a lot of point in upgrading the amp at this stage as streaming, etc. are handled by my media workstation.

I'm not into a budget per se as I'd rather piece together the system as I go along, but the idea of buying a current model that is about to be replaced is sometimes worthwhile. I try not to go to big or to extravagant with my purchases (hence the comment about the 7.1 speaker setup) but I do believe buying the best you can afford at the time gives you quality, longevity and ultimately a happier experience. If I were only using the gear on the odd occasion I might consider the budget option otherwise.

Commenter

SKay

Date and time

December 06, 2013, 4:09PM

Maybe you could write an article on how more people are having unhealthy superficial interests in wanting to continually upgrade their phones etc in hope to fill a void, usually with money they don't have and at times to impress people they don't know. Than again if you did I doubt you'd have permission to publish it, because it wouldn't be in the interest of the advertisers. Fascinating how we put profit before people, but there's no harm in hoping to read something more enlightening in future.

Commenter

Damian

Date and time

December 07, 2013, 7:40PM

I think your comments about yamaha are a bit tough..middle of the road...their av receiver will set you back from 400 to 5000 dollars .they are an award winning brand with many awards ...what hifi magazine awarded their rxv v 673 receiver best av reciever of the year .personally I think you need to spend at least $2000 to get anything decent in a home theatre system...

Commenter

maltease

Date and time

December 09, 2013, 6:44AM

I watched a Blu-Ray movie, RED 2, at a friends place on Saturday, on his amazing, ridiculously expensive home theatre set-up. The picture quality was incredible and the 5.1 sound was really good but I have to say I don't know why you'd bother. Watching at home on my computer monitor with stereo speakers is just as rewarding. So my advice is not to bother at all with surround sound, just get a really good screen and a half-decent stereo and you'll be set. I'd also advise not to buy a big screen, unless you have an enormous room to watch it in, because most of the time you'll be watching Standard Def TV on it and the bigger the screen, the worse that is going to look. I reckon for the average lounge room, 40" or so is more than big enough.